MamaBlogger365 – What Are Some of the Greatest Issues Facing Mothers? by Dorothy (Sue) Laqua

Being a mother means our everyday behaviors are being watched and emulated; what we do is as much a part of teaching a child as our words. If you spank a child for hitting another child, are you teaching the child not to hit or are you teaching him it is okay to hit? If you tell a child not to steal and you walk out of the store with more change than you were supposed to receive or a item that the sales clerk missed and you don’t return to tell them, are you teaching your child not to steal?

I have learned by mistakes, failures, and successes that my behaviors are what taught my children, not my words. I left a store one day and dropped the change in my purse. Half way home from the journey I looked down and noticed I had a twenty dollar bill on top of several ones. I turned the car around and headed back to the store. My daughter said, “Are you going all the way back?” I said yes. The salesperson thanked me for returning. That one action I took taught my daughter a lifelong lesson. She returns to the store every time she is undercharged or given too much change. Teaching your child your values is in your actions.

BIO: About Dorothy (Sue) Laqua: I am a 51-year-old woman who is currently attending Minnesota State – Mankato and will be receiving my BS in Gender and Women Studies. I have worked in the human services field all of my life with developmentally delayed and mentally ill clientele. I want to earn a master’s degree in my field of study with an emphasis on Ethnic Studies, and would like to work in a reentry program for women who have been incarcerated. I believe these women are the most marginalized in our society, and understand that they are stuck in a revolving door with no way out of poverty. Many of them are mothers who have little chance of rejoining their family and making it safe. I know that being a mother and a feminist can sometimes be at separate ends of the spectrum as we try to protect our daughters and in the same breath give them the freedoms of choice and equality. I have 4 children, and two step-children. I fostered two grandchildren and helped raise three young multi-cultural women. I also have seven grandchildren to complete my family. My husband and I live in a small agricultural community and spend a great deal of time volunteering by helping older persons or persons with disabilities.